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Major Weekly Developments in North Korea (December 6 - 12, 2004)

ROK National Intelligence Service

Inside North Korea

Accompanied by Lee Myeong-su, Hyeon Cheol-hae, Park Jae-gyeong and other “comrades,” Kim Jeong-il visited (date unreported) the military bases of the 5848th and the 854th battalions of the North Korean People’s Army, and ordered them to “strengthen combat capabilities” (Dec. 11-12, Central Broadcasting Station).

The Central Broadcasting Station (Dec. 7) reported that “the ‘Military-First Revolution Marching Conference’ will be held in early February at the revolutionary capital of Pyeongyang with the participation of men and women serving in the People’s Army, workers and laborers, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of our party’s ‘Military First’ policy.”

In a political debate titled Our Political Ideology Front is a Mighty Fortress, the Central Broadcasting Station (Dec. 12) emphatically stated, “the ‘Military-First’ ideology of General Kim Jeong-il, which unites the military and ideology as one, is doubtlessly the purest form of the Juche ideology, and we shall live indefinitely as ‘Military-First’ ideologists.”

International Issues

The Rodong Shinmun (Dec.7), through an editorial titled Acts Demolishing Regional Peace & Stability, condemned Japan, stating, “Japan’s new ‘Defense Plan’ for having included us (North Korea) and China along with Russia as the factors causing instability in regional security, which clearly indicates their dangerous intent to win the hegemonic position in Northeast Asia.” (Dec.7, Central Broadcasting Station)

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, in a statement by a spokesperson, claimed, “It has been disclosed that the US has devised war plans such as the Military Action Plan ‘5026·5027·5029·5030’ and is continuously developing more plots for preemptive strikes against our major military facilities.” (Dec.8, Central Broadcasting Station)

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Service (Dec. 8) announced, “We censure the decision made on the 3rd by the Japanese government and the majority party to ease the Three Principles on Arms Exports which bans the exportation of all military arms and their manufacturing technology, etc. As a result, the Three Principles on Arms Exports that Japan proclaimed under the banner of peace has been reduced to an empty shell with empty promises.”

Inter-Korean Issues

In an editorial titled Who Should Reform & Open, the Unification Newspaper (Dec.4) argued, “the Korean people will absolutely not accept nor allow the South Korean authorities to maneuver for reform and openness, while failing to consider inter-Korean reconciliation, unity, and unification, for this will only result in new confrontation between regimes.” (Dec.6, Pyongyang Broadcasting Service)

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Service (Dec. 12) announced, “the South Korean people should end the era of foreign rule and intervention and further fuel the fires of anti-American unrest so as to build a new system and a new society where there is no rule or plundering by foreign powers, or human rights violations.”